So I put a new Mesa Tactical side saddle on my Remington 870, and now the trigger is dead.

It's something to do with the forward trigger pin. With that out, the gun cycles properly. With the Mesa pin in, the trigger is dead.

I'll give Mesa a call, but any ideas in the interim?

This has happened to me before also. I think what you’ve got going in is that the two screws holding on the shell holder are too tight, causing the action to bind up. Try loosening them just a bit.

quote:

Originally posted by dry-fly:
This has happened to me before also. I think what you’ve got going in is that the two screws holding on the shell holder are too tight, causing the action to bind up. Try loosening them just a bit.

It definitely seems to bind up the action, but it doesn't matter if the pin is tight or loose. The mere presence of the pin is all that's necessary to cause the problem.

Brought it in to a smith today.

Turns out my shotgun lacks a spacer at the end of the magazine tube. That allowed the barrel to creep too far into the receiver, which prevented the gun from cycling when the trigger group was pinned in place (but not when it wasn't).

Receiver was fine, trigger group was fine, all Mesa Tactical parts were fine, and my side-saddle installation was fine.

Easy fix once he figured it out, and he didn't even charge me anything.

It's a great feeling when you figure it all out and they didn't charge you a dime. Wish it happened more often...